AmEx terminates some employees for inappropriately pitching certain products

The American Express (AXP) logo can be seen in Los Angeles, California, United States, April 25, 2016. REUTERS / Lucy Nicholson / Files

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Nov. 22 (Reuters) – American Express Co (AXP.N) announced Monday that it had fired some employees of its global trade services division for inappropriately promoting some products in terms of tax benefits.

The company said the issue primarily affects Premium Wire, which enables companies to send wire transfers worldwide, and it has hired a law firm to investigate its small business sales practices in the United States, including the sale of Premium Wire.

The Wall Street Journal had previously reported that some of the company’s salespeople had proposed a strategy to business owners based on a shaky interpretation of the treatment of reward points in tax law.

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“This misconduct should not have happened,” said a statement from the company. “As a result of an internal investigation, we have dismissed employees and disciplined others, made product changes, adjusted our compensation plan, required additional training, and strengthened our permitted sales practices and guidelines.”

AmEx announced that it will end the Premium Wire service and remove the Membership Rewards component for a working capital solution developed for a supplier and its buyers.

The services surveyed accounted for less than a quarter of 1% of AmEx’s global sales from 2018 to September 2021.

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Reporting by Sohini Podder in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D’Silva

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

https://www.reuters.com/business/finance/amex-pitched-business-clients-tax-break-that-may-have-skirted-laws-wsj-2021-11-22/